Lumber -measure



F. S. BALDWIN.

LUMBER MEASURE.

(No Model.)

No. 367,261. Patented July 26, 1887.

hZiff-'f 7L N. PETERS, Prmwehngnphsr. wmingwn. B c.

UNITED STATES yFRANK s. BALDWIN, oEDE'rEoIT, MICHIGAN. f

PATENT OFFICE.

LuMBER'-MEASURE.

' SPECIFICATION ,formingpart of Letters Patent No. 367,261, dated July 26,1887.

Y Application filed February 18, 1887. Serial No. 223,026. (No model.) v

.citizen of the United States of America, residing at Detroit, in the county of Wayne and Stateof Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lumber Measures, ofwhich the following isa specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention'relates to improvements in lumber-measures,and more particularly to the measures shown and described in my Letters Patent No. 138,310, dated April '29, 1873.

The invention consists in the combination, with the set of registering-dials that register the aggregate measurements, of an auxiliary set of dials for registering a single measurement, and adapted, as the tape-line is withdrawn within the case, to` return to zero.

The invention consists, further,in certain details of construction and combinations of parts, which will first be described in connection. with the accompanying drawings, and

then clearly pointed out in the claims.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a plan view of my improved luniber-measure,the registeringdials being shown in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view with the bottom of the casing removedxand the reel andl ratchet-disk partly broken away. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional elevation taken on the line yy of Fig. 2. Fig. 4. is an edge view, partly sectional, of the reel. Fig. 4.a is a plan view of the reel on a smaller scale. Fig. 5 is an enlargedv detail view showing the mechanism for shifting the pinion that engages with the cone 4of gears. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the yoke as attached to the sliding shaft. Fig. 7 is an edge view of the yoke as attached to the sliding shaft.v

Referring to the drawings, A is the case.

B represents the wheel, turning loosely on axle C, journaled in the sides of the case, the

reel bcaringla tape-line, Dgpreferabl y of springsteel.

In my patentmeasure above alluded to the reel was made up of a hub, radial spokes, and a broad rim,on which the tape-line was wound. rIhe objections to that reel are, that itA is expensive to manufacture, and also that it is necessary to rivet the end of the tape-line to the rim, which renders renewal of the tape,when

worn out, very inconvenient. In the present instance I construct the reel of two metallic circular plates, b b, each having a rim, b', stamped up from the body of the plate, and the two plates united by solder or otherwise,

as shown in Fig. 4.. A hubbz, on one side ofthe reel, is secured in a perforation in thevweb serted. The body of the r'eel being solid, it

cannot spring and thereby affect the accuracy of a measurement when the line is being drawn out, as would be the case if the rim of the oldy yreel were cut through.

E represents a spring-coil on one side of the reel for winding the tape-line, one end of the spring being secured to the hub and the other end to a stud, e, fixed inthe case.

F represents a ratchet-disk, which, like. the reel, turns loosely on axis C, and is locked to the reel by a pin, f, projecting from the latter. (Shown in Fig. 2, but not in Fig. 3.)

G represents a. cone of gears rigidly secured to disk F, for transmitting motion toregistering-dials of the usual construction, of which 'there is a main set, H, for registering the a'ggregateof a'number of measurements, and also an auxiliary set, I, for registering a single measurement, h2 indicating the/units-dial, h the tens-dial, and h the hundreds-dial in the lmain set, and t' the units-dial and t" the tens- Ydial in the auxiliary set.

These dials are arranged immediately under the top plate of the case, the said plate being perforated, as shown in Fig. 1, to expose to view the figures thereon. The dials are operated by a train of gears and pins, as follows:

l1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 represent the shafts upon which the dials and their operating mechanism are mounted. Shaft 1 bears the unitsdial t' of the auxiliaryset, a pin, 9, for moving the tens-.dial z",and a gear-Wheel, 6, all of which are rigidly fixed to the shaft. Shaft 2 bears the tens-dial i', a toothed wheel, 10, with one of whose teeth pin 9 engages at each revolution of shaft 1, and a gear-wheel, 7, (shown in full and-dotted linesin Fig. 2,)loosely mounted and gearing with wheel 6. Shaft 3 bears the units-dial h2 of the main set, a pin, 11, for moving the tens-dial h', a ratchet-toothed wheel, 12, and the gear-wheel 8 (also shown in full and dotted lines in Fig. 2) gearing` with wheels 6 and 7 and provided on its innerside with pawls 13 for engagement with the teeth of wheel 12, as seen in Fig..3. Theunits-dial h`l has ratchet-teeth formed on its periphery, with which a pawl, t, attached tothe cap-plate, engages to prevent backward rotation of the dial, which, together with pin 1l and wheel 12, is rigidly xed to shaft 3, while the gear-wheel 8 is loosely mounted thereon. Shaft et bears the tens-dial h of the main set, a toothed wheel, 14, with which pin 11 engages at each revolution of shaft 3 to move said dial, and a pin, 15. Shaft 5 bears the hundreds-dial h of the main set and a toothed wheel, 16, with which pin 15 engages at each revolution of shaft 4 to move said dial. The main set of dials are provided with thumb-buttons c for turning them by hand, when desired.

Ii represents a broad pinion loosely journaled on a stud fixed in the case, which pinion transmits motion to the registering-train, and in turn motion is transmitted to this pinion by means of a narrow pinion, L, loosely journaled on the end of a transversely-movable shaft, M, extending through a slot, a, in the case. The inner end of this shaft has Hattened sides, as shown, while its outer end is round and provided with a stud, m, which engages with a spirally-slotted sleeve, on', encircling that end of the shaft and having a flange, mi, on its inner end. Over this sleeve is placed another sleeve, mi, formed integral with the setting-disk, presently to be described, the two sleeves being secured together by a screw, m".

Shaft M is held in its proper relative position in slot av in the case7 and at the same time is prevented from turning by means, preferably, of a yoke, N, having an elongated slot in one end for fitting over the innerend of the shaft, and a perforation in its other end to tit over the arbor-carrying pinion K. In order that this yoke may not spring and bind in operation, instead of making it throughout its length of just sufieient thickness to lie conveniently alongside the flange m2 on sleeve on', as in my patented measure above mentioned, I make it as thick and rigid as possible and reduce that portion which fits shaft M only sufficient to equal the thickness of the flange on the sleeve, as shown in Fig. 7, the iiange in this way serving as a washer.

O represents the setti ng-disk, for setting pinion L into engagement with any desired por` tion of the cone of gears. This disk has reeesses of varying depths in its periphery, and these recesses are numbered according to the lengths of measurements it is desired to mak ein this instance ten, twelve, fourteen, sixteen, and eighteen feet, the deepest notch being for the least number of feet, and these notches engage with av stud, o, on the case. The disk when set is prevented from becoming disengaged from the stud by a pin, p, taking into a perforation, o', in the disk near each recess, the pin being secured to a spring-plate, P, secured to the under side of the top plate of the ease, and provided with a stud, p', extending through the top plate and bearing a pushbut ton, p2, on its outer end.

It will be observed, on referring to Figs. 1 and 2, that the setting-disk is adjusted for measurements of fourteen feet. Now, as the cone of gears and the ratchet-disk are secured together, and the latter is locked to the rcel,they all turn together, so that as the tape-line is drawn outthe cone transmits motion, through pinions L and K, to gearwheels 6, 7, and 8. As wheel 6, pin 9, and dial are all fixed rigidly to the shaft, they all partake ofthe movements of pinions L and K. Gear-wheel 7 is loose on shaft 2, and consequently has nothing to do with the movement of the tens-dial i', that being accomplished by the engagement of pin 9 with wheel 10. Gear-wheel Sis also loose on its shaft; but in its forward movement its pawl 13 engages with wheel 12 and carries it, together with pin 11 and the units-dial h2 ol' the main set, around with it, the pawl t riding freely over the teeth of the dial. Pin 11 on shaft 3 engages with wheel 14 on shaft 4 and moves dial h', and pin 15 on shaft 4 engages with wheel 16 on shaft 5 and moves dial h. Vhen a measurement is made, the number of feet will appear on the auxiliary dials and also on the main dials. Then, as the tape is being wound up, the dials of the former set will be moved back to zero by the backward turning of wheels 6, 7, and 8; but the dials of the main set will remain stationary, being held in that position by pawl t, engaging with the teeth on dial h2, as seen in dotted lines in Fig. l and in full lines in Fig-2. Another measurement made, it will again appear singly 011 the auX- iliary dials; but the aggregate of the two measurements will appear on the main set, and so on.

If it is desired to measure different lengthssay ten feet-the setting-disk is turned until the recess marked 10 is engaged by the stud o, and in thus turning the disk the shaft M is drawn outward and carried downward in slot a in the case by yoke N until pinion L engages with the smallest portion ofthe cone of gears, when motion is transmitted to the registeringdials, as before.

This measure may be used without the aux iliary dials by removing them and shifting the main set around so as to gear with pinion K. In this case the loekihg-pin must be removed from the ratchet-disk and a pawl be so placed in the reel as to hold the disk while the wheel is running back to wind the tape-line.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A lumber-measurehavinga reel and tapeline and two sets of registeringdials, one set designed to register an aggregate number of dials, its actuating-train, and a pawl for pre- Venting backward movement of said dials, of the auxiliary dials, actuati n ggear therefor free 'to move in forward and backward directions,

the reel, a cone of gears secured to the reel, a broad pinion in mesh with the registeringtrain, and a shifting-pinion in gear With the cone aud broad piuionpsubstantially as described. f

3. The tape reel formedof two metallic disks having rims, as b', and united together, and a hub, as b2, the rim of the reel being slit through,

as at b3, and the web being perforated under the slit, as at b4, as shown and described.

4.. The combination, with the sliding shaft.,

a portion of which is fiat sided, and a sleeve enveloping the round portiolfof said shaft and provided with a Harige at its inner end anda stud fixed in the case, of a yoke one. end of which has au elongated slot for fitting over the flat-sided end of the shaft and soreduced in thickness as to receive the iiangeonthe sleeve, the other end of the yoke being perforated for attachment to said stud, substantially as-dcscribed, and for the purpose stated.

5. The combination, with the setting-disk recessed and perforated, as described, and a stud on the case for engagement with the recesses in the disk, of the spring on the under sideV of the case, provided with a pin which extends through the top of the case and engages the perforationsy in the disk,`and a push-button for operating the spring.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

v FRANK S. BALDWIN. Witnesses:

J. F. WILLIAMS,

JAs. R. EDWARDS. 

